Search

CycleBeads® and the Standard Days Method® on which it is based, is included in international and national medical guidelines as a modern, effective contraceptive. This includes guidelines issued by the World Health Organization and International Planned Parenthood Federation. It is ...

Please join us for a live CycleBeads Webinar: Introductory Training for Healthcare Providers on Tuesday, April 8, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. PT. Register now!
This is a one-hour webinar designed for healthcare professionals who are interested in finding out about ...

Exciting news! We have just released our new and improved informational brochure. It gives straightforward information about how this effective, natural family planning method works, how to screen yourself to determine if this family planning option is right for you, and features all three of ...

A recent article in The Atlantic "The New Old-School Birth Control" outlines the complicated and challenging environment for fertility awareness-based methods. The article does a good job describing the many barriers that make it difficult for women in the U.S. to find ...

The new publication "Stories of Most Significant Change" features firsthand reports from health providers, women, and their partners about how the Standard Days Method and CycleBeads have impacted their programs and lives. Focusing on five developing countries, the stories help us see ...

Ten years ago, only 7% of women in Rwanda were using a family planning method and women were giving birth to an average of six children during their lifetimes. The introduction of the Standard Days Method®

If you missed the webinar on How to Plan or Prevent Pregnancy Naturally, you can see the recorded video below. The presentation reviews different fertility awareness-based family planning methods and looks in depth at the Standard Days Method, how it was developed, how it works, who can use it, ...

There is still time to register for the "How to Plan or Prevent Pregnancy Naturally" webinar tomorrow at 1pm ET/10am PT. Get answers to all of your questions about fertility awareness-based family planning methods in general and the Standard Days Method® and CycleBeads® in ...

The CycleBeads products are the only tools for using the Standard Days Method of family planning.
They are all:
- proven effective
- easy to use
- inexpensive
Which one would you most prefer to use? Take our quick survey!
Post a comment ...

Did you miss our last webinar? Don't worry, we're doing it again! Please join us for the How to Plan or Prevent Pregnancy Naturally Webinar on June 26, 2013 at 1pm EDT by registering at:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6002868745032390912

Please join us for the How to Plan or Prevent Pregnancy Naturally Webinar on May 30, 2013 1:00 PM Eastern Time by registering at:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6685036544611363840
This 30 minute webinar will lo

"If you tell someone you use a 'natural family planning' method they often have a different reaction than if you tell them you are using 'fertility awareness'" says Kate Abrams. Kate has been using the Standard Days Method® with CycleBeads® for years and told us that ...

CycleBeads® and the Standard Days Method® on which it is based are included as a contraceptive option that can help address worldwide family planning needs in a special series on Impatient Optimists, a blog created by The Gates Foundation.

You are likely familiar with CycleBeads® as a tool for using the Standard Days Method® of family planning and as an aid for health care providers and health educators to teach about fertility awareness. But CycleBeads also pla

Two recent studies conducted by researchers at the Institute for Reproductive Health (IRH) at Georgetown University looked at integrating the Standard Days Method® using CycleBeads® into health programs. Results showed that offering this fertility awareness-based family planning method brought ...

Attention! Health Care Providers and Health Educators:
A toolkit for integrating the Standard Days Method® and CycleBeads® into U.S. health clinics and programs has been created by our research partner, the Institute for Reproductive Health. It is a free online resource that ...

A recent report from our colleagues at the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University, explores the characteristics of a "modern family planning method" and how CycleBeads® and the Standard Days Method® of family pl

We are thrilled to be launching iCycleBeads™ Online and our redesigned website! iCycleBeads Online is the only web app in the world based on the Standard Days Method® of family planning. A user receives a private internet account where she can easily track the ...

There are other symptoms such as cervical secretions or changes in temperature that a woman can track to help her know "what are my fertile days". While this information can be interesting, women who are using the Standard Days Method do not need to track and monitor these symptoms ...

Yes. You can use the Standard Days Method if you have recently used emergency contraception and your cycles are usually between 26 and 32 days long. However, you should wait until you start your next period before using it.

Yes. A non-hormonal IUD has no effect on ovulation or cycle length. If your cycles were between 26 and 32 days long before you began using the IUD (in other words they were generally about a month apart), then you can begin using the Standard Days Method as soon as you get your next period.

No. The Standard Days Method works very well for women who usually have menstrual cycles between 26 and 32 days long. Women who often have cycles shorter than 26 days or longer than 32 days are not good candidates for this method. According to data from the World Health Organization, about 80% ...

No. Like most other family planning methods except condoms, the Standard Days Method does not protect people from STIs. If you think you are at risk of an STI, you should consult your doctor immediately to find out how you can protect yourself.

Yes. However, research has shown that users are much more likely to use this method correctly with a visual tool. CycleBeads and the related apps have been found to be efficient, easy-to-use tools for helping women keep track of their cycles and letting them know "what are my fertile ...

We have designed a number of easy-to-use tools to help a woman use the Standard Days Method including CycleBeads, CycleBeads Olnine, and iCycleBeads smartphone apps. These tools each act as a fertility calendar meaning that a user does not need to worry about keeping track of any numbers. ...

If a woman wants to achieve pregnancy while using this family planning method, she and her partner should have intercourse during her fertile days - days 8-19. Most doctors recommend that a couple should have intercourse at least every other day during their fertile days of cycle for the ...

If a woman wants to avoid pregnancy while using this family planning method, she and her partner should either abstain or use a back-up method of birth control during her fertile days of cycle - days 8-19. She should also monitor her cycles and ensure that they remain in the ...

The Standard Days Method identifies the fertile period – the time when a woman could get pregnant - as days 8 through 19 of her menstrual cycle. The fertile period identified by this family planning method is 12 days long because it takes into account the lifespan of the sperm (5 days), the ...

The Standard Days Method is very different from the rhythm method. While many people use the term “the rhythm method” as a vague term to mean “fertility awareness” or “natural family planning” in general, the technical definitions of “the rhythm method” are complex. The "rhythm method" ...

To develop this family planning method, researchers at the Institute for Reproductive Health created a computer model, based on data from the World Health Organization, and determined that women who usually have menstrual cycles between 26 and 32 days long are potentially fertile – or able to ...

There are a few different tools that a woman can use to follow this family planning method:
CycleBeads – CycleBeads is a string of 32 color-coded beads that a woman can use to track her cycle, and identify if she is on a day when pregnancy is likely or not. This tool is used by women all ...

In studies conducted by the Institute for Reproductive Health, the Standard Days Method was found to be more than 95% effective at preventing pregnancy. That means that, out of 100 women using the method for 1 year, fewer than 5 of them would get pregnant if they used the method correctly. The ...

The Standard Days Method is a simple natural method of family planning that was developed by the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University. The method is based on a fixed formula which indicates that women with cycles between 26 and 32 days long, are potentially fertile on days ...

As mentioned in a previous article on family planning in the Philippines, birth control and sex education in this Catholic country can be difficult to come by. To combat this problem, one city started requiring family planning courses for all couples planning to get married. In Marakina City ...

We’ve heard it all… Is this jewelry? Should I wear CycleBeads® around my neck? Are these rosary beads? And even a few responses that aren’t quite fit for print.
So why did we decide to use beads to help women use the Standard Days Method® of family planning?

30 Day Risk Free TrialEasy and effective natural family planning is now available online with the new CycleBeads web app, the only web app in the world based on the Standard Days Method® of family planning. This innovative family planning service can be used as birth control or to plan a pregnancy ...

Easy and effective natural family planning is now available online with the new CycleBeads® Online service. CycleBeads Online is the only web app in the world based on the Standard Days Method® of family planning; the most effective natural family planning method in typical use. This innovative service can be used as birth control or to plan a pregnancy easily and ...

CycleBeads® – The Original Family Planning Tool
A hands-on visual tool used by millions of women worldwide, CycleBeads is the original way to identify your fertile days using the Standard Days Method® of family planning. CycleBeads is a color-coded string of beads representing a woman's menstrual cycle. It helps a woman track her ...

iCycleBeads™ smartphone apps enable a woman to use the Standard Days Method® of family planning through her iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or Android phone. These are the only smartphone apps in the world based on this highly effective, well researched family planning method. It's more than just a period tracker app, iCycleBeads lets you plan or prevent pregnancy easily and effectively with your ...

Here it is! The article in the October issue of the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care that describes the recent study that shows couples are very likely to keep using the Standard Days Method of family planning as well as CycleBeads long term, and that the ...

A new study to be published in the October issue of the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care finds that couples who used the Standard Days Method® of family planning to prevent pregnancy are very likely to continue using this method along with the visual tool CycleBeads®. The ...

July 27, 2011 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Cycle Technologies launched iCycleBeads™ on the Android platform. iCycleBeads is the first application that enables a woman to plan or prevent pregnancy easily and effectively, entirely through information provided by her phone. iCycleBeads is the only ...

Well we’ve said it before, but CycleBeads and the Standard Days Method of family planning are not the rhythm method! There is a lot of information in the earlier CycleBeads is Not the Rhythm Method post, but sometimes a picture is worth a 1000 words…

Exciting research is being conducted by the Institute for Reproductive Health on offering the Standard Days Method™ of family planning through mobile phones. As an information-based, natural family planning method, the Standard Days Method is ideally suited for offering in this manner. The ...

We occasionally hear the question “isn't CycleBeads just the rhythm method?" The answer is NO. CycleBeads, and the Standard Days Method on which it is based, are very different from the so-called “rhythm method”, a method which is vaguely understood, not well defined, confusing to use, ...

How Does the Standard Days Method of Family Planning Work?
The Standard Days Method® is a fertility awareness-based family planning method that identifies a fixed fertile window for women with cycles that are between 26 and 32 days long. For women with cycles in this range, the ...

CycleBeads® and iCycleBeads apps are based on a natural family planning method called the Standard Days Method®. This method was developed by the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University to fulfill the need for an effective, easy to use, natural birth control ...

Getting Started
To get started, follow these steps:
1) Set your timezone. This will activate emails alerting you to key days of your cycle.
2) Check that the date and time on the device(s) that you will use to access your CycleBeads Online account, are accurate.This ...

How Do I Prevent Pregnancy Using this Family Planning Method?
To prevent pregnancy naturally using CycleBeads, a woman should avoid having unprotected intercourse on days 8-19 of her cycle, where the start of her cycle, Day 1, is the first day of her period. This means that during the days ...

Current Research Project
Researchers at iHub in Nairobi and the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University, are looking for women in Kenya using the CycleBeads Android app, to give them feedback. If you live in Kenya, and are willing to participate in a study to improve ...